Bondea City isn't too far from us; it should only take a few hours to get there.
As of now, I'm gazing outside the window of our carriage, enjoying the fragrance of flowers and the refreshing breeze.
The scenery in this land is breathtaking. While we travel, Mom brings out some sweets we bought yesterday and hands them to me.
After a few hours of traveling, we finally arrive in Bondea City, a stunning place with tall houses adorned with countless lights wherever you look.
There are cute baby guardians roaming around with their owners, shopping and strolling. There are also a lot of high-end coffee shops lining the streets, and many cake shops too, so I’m sure I won’t get bored here. Our carriage goes straight to Dad's friend's house.
In just a few minutes, we arrive at their home, and to be honest, it's massive. It's even bigger than our house. If you think about it, it looks more like a royal palace than our own home.
It's like a palace where a king resides; this family is incredibly wealthy. I wonder if they might be royalty too.
As we step down from the carriage, we're immediately greeted by two of their servants.
"Good evening, Sir Vandey. We are honored by your visit tonight. We'll take care of your luggage."
"Thank you very much."
After a brief conversation, we enter the grand door, which is so polished I can see my reflection in its knob.
As we step inside, soft, soothing music fills the air. It’s not sleep-inducing but rather pleasant to listen to.
I walk behind Mom and Dad, and suddenly, I notice a girl about my age staring at me. Naturally, I glance at her and manage a small smile, though it comes out a bit awkward, so I quickly quickened my walk.
While looking ahead, I see Mom and Dad stop in front of me. Peeking past them, I spot a beautiful woman standing behind a tall man, who is almost as tall as Dad.
The tall man is Mr. Ken Smith, the owner of this enormous house, and the woman beside him is probably his wife. If he's the father and she's the mother, then the person behind them must be their child.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Vandey. I'm so glad you could make it."
"We are honored to attend your daughter's 10th birthday, Ken."
10th birthday? So this girl is about my age, and it’s her birthday. I assumed their child was a boy. I was so surprised to see that their child is a beautiful girl.
"Oh, Mrs. Vandey, it's the first time we've met. So you're the beautiful wife of my childhood friend."
"Ah, haha! Mr. Smith, you're quite the flatterer. I see where Dred gets his charm from."
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
They all laugh at Mom’s comment, though I didn't find it particularly funny. But it’s true that Dad can be a smooth talker at times.
"Oh, by the way, this is my wife, Patricia. Patricia, this is my childhood friend, Dred, and his wife, Miya, and of course, their only son, Azrael."
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Vandey."
"The pleasure is ours," Miya responds.
"Oh! So this is Azrael. He's quite handsome. If I'm not mistaken, he's around Ashley's age."
Ashley? So that’s the name of this lovely young lady.
"Ah, yes, but Azrael is a year older than her. He’ll be turning 11 this year," Mom says, placing her hand on my shoulder as I stand in front of them. It seems Mr. and Mrs. Smith's daughter is a bit shy.
"Now that you've met each other, follow us; we have a table for six."
"Ah! Come on, Ken, stop being so formal!"
"What's wrong with you, Dred? We're not kids anymore."
"Tsk! You've always been like this, Ken, ever since we were kids, haha!"
"Sigh. What can I do, haha?"
Dad cheerfully puts his arm around Mr. Smith’s shoulder as we head to our table, while Mom and Mrs. Smith walk together.
Now I'm left—oh, wait—Ashley and I are left behind. This is so awkward because she’s not saying anything. I’m beginning to wonder if she’s mute.
"Ahm! Hello! I’m Azrael. Can you hear me?"
"..."
"Oh, so you must be deaf then?"
"Tsk! Who’s deaf?!"
"Oh, there you go; you finally spoke, haha! You’ve been so quiet."
"You can walk without talking, so why do you have to open your mouth?"
"You’re so snappy, Ashley, right? Happy birthday! Here, I have a gift for you."
A small ring of smoke appears in front of me, and I reach my hand inside. When I pull it out, I’m holding a box, which I hand to her.
"Oh, here, my gift to you. I hope you like it."
"Thank you."
"That’s it? No reaction? Sigh. You’re hard to please."
"..."
After our brief conversation, we reach our table and sit down. Dad sits next to Mr. Smith, Mom next to Mrs. Smith, and of course, I’m still seated beside Miss Grumpy.
There are so many people here, and other boys around my age are approaching Ashley, giving her their gifts.
Once they hand her their presents, Ashley gives them to her butler, while my gift remains on the table in front of her.
Eh? I feel kind of special, haha. After a few minutes, the event starts. Mr. Smith stands up and gently taps his glass with a spoon to get everyone’s attention.
"Good evening, everyone. I want to thank you all for coming tonight. I hope you enjoy yourselves and that your children who are here also have a great time. I only wish for my daughter to enjoy herself tonight and to grow up right and well. I will give her everything she wants and all the attention she needs to be called a good father. Thank you for coming into our lives, Ashley. We love you so much. Happy 10th birthday."
Everyone applauds after Mr. Smith's speech, and Ashley gives a small smile. I don’t know if it’s just me, but her smile seems forced. Is she really happy, or just pretending?
After Mr. Smith’s speech, the background music starts playing, signaling that it’s time to dance with the birthday girl. One by one, the young boys approach Ashley, offering her their hands.
Ashley takes their hands and goes to the front to dance. A small smile plays on her lips as she dances, but she doesn’t seem to be enjoying it.
After she finishes dancing with one boy, another steps forward to dance with her, until Dad nudges me.
"Don't you want to dance with such a beautiful girl tonight, son?"
"Ahm, hehe! I’m not sure if I want to."
"Huh? Don’t you find her attractive? She’s beautiful, and she seems nice. Go on, ask her to dance."
I hesitate, but since Dad insists, I stand up and wait for her to finish dancing.
Once she’s done, I slowly approach, bow, and offer her my hand. She takes it, and we start to dance.
I notice she’s trembling; it feels like she’s not used to dancing, or maybe this is her first time. So, I tighten my grip on her and take the lead.
She follows my movements, and she’s so light it feels like I’m dancing with a feather. Maybe it’s because I’ve been training a lot, but she seems so light to me.
People seem impressed as we dance. Even Mr. Smith can’t hide his excitement, and Dad has a proud look on his face.
I end the dance by spinning her around and catching her, with her in a dipped position and me standing over her. It’s a very romantic moment.
We lock eyes for a full five seconds before I help her stand. After our performance, we both bow before the crowd.
Everyone watching claps, and Mr. Smith even looks like he’s about to cry from what he’s seen. It’s a bit of an overreaction, but I’ll take it as a good sign that I did well.
After the dance, everyone starts eating. Dad and Mr. Smith talk about work, while Mom and Mrs. Smith discuss how to raise a child properly.
Meanwhile, the girl next to me is just focused on her food, not saying a single word.
"Ahm, are you okay? You don’t seem happy."
"...?"
"I mean, it’s your birthday. You should be happy. My birthdays are simple, nothing like this big event, and there aren’t this many people, but guess what? I’m still happy."
"Are you really royalty? I’ve never heard of a royal who doesn’t throw extravagant birthday parties."
"Party? It’s just a simple gathering. As long as I’m with my whole family on my birthday, I’m happy."
"...."
"Look at yourself; you have so many gifts and so many guests, but you’re still sad. Your house is even bigger than ours."
"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."
Huh? Is she really going to the restroom? She looks like she’s heading outside. Of course, I get up from my seat and excuse myself to use the restroom too.
I follow her and find her standing on the balcony on the second floor, gazing at the moon as a gentle breeze brushes through her hair. She’s so beautiful.
"Oh, the restroom,."
"Are you seriously following me?"
"Following? I just needed to use the restroom. I got lost."
"Tsk! What a lame excuse."
"Why are you so grumpy? Did something happen to you?"
"That's none of your business."
"You know, ever since I was little, I've been training to become stronger, to be ready to lead my family one day. Earlier, I might have held you a bit too tightly during the dance. Sorry about that."
"It's fine. You didn't hurt me."
"Good, at least I don't have to worry about hurting you."
"Do you want to know why I'm not happy?"
"H-huh? Are you really okay with telling me? I mean, I didn't say I didn’t want to hear it; I just meant... are you sure you’re comfortable sharing something so personal with me?"
"I don’t have much choice; you're quite persistent."
"Huh?"
"And besides, I feel at ease with you, unlike with the others."
"...."
"You're lucky. Since you were little, you've had your parents’ attention. Did you know my parents only come home once a week because of their work? Today, they’re here only because it’s my birthday. Tomorrow, they’ll leave again. They work abroad, so they can't come home every day."
"No wonder you’re not close to them."
"So you noticed too."
"Yeah, it’s pretty obvious."
"Jed, my butler, the man who's been by my side since we sat at the table, he's the only one who really understands me. He's the one who teaches me everything I need to know, from schoolwork to using magic. I'm not good at making friends because I’m too shy to start a conversation."
Now I understand why she’s so quiet. It’s not that she’s mean—she just doesn’t know how to talk to people. She probably doesn’t have any friends at school.
Who would want to talk to her when the first word out of her mouth is "tsk!"? Even I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like that.
But I’m glad I pushed through and talked to her anyway. At least now I know her side of the story. Well, it's not too bad. But I just wish she wouldn't be so grumpy when people try to approach her.